X-ray phase-contrast and dark-field imaging are two new modalities that have great potential for applications in different fields like medical diagnostics or materials science. The use of grating interferometers allows the detection of both differential phase shift and dark-field signal together with the absorption signal in a single acquisition. We present wave-optical simulations to quantitatively analyze the response of a grating-based X-ray phase-contrast and dark-field imaging setup to variations of the sample relative to the system. Specifically, we investigated changes in the size and the position of the object. Furthermore, we examined the influence of different detector pixel sizes while sample and interferometer remained unchanged. The results of this study contribute to a better understanding of the signal formation and represent a step towards the full characterization of the response of grating interferometry setups to specific sample geometries.
In 3rd generation CT systems projection data, generated by X-rays emitted from a single source and passing
through the imaged object, are acquired by a single detector covering the entire field of view (FOV). Novel
CT system architectures employing distributed sources [1,2] could extend the axial coverage, while
removing cone-beam artifacts and improving spatial resolution and dose. The sources can be distributed in
plane and/or in the longitudinal direction. We investigate statistical iterative reconstruction of multi-axial
data, acquired with simulated CT systems with multiple sources distributed along the in-plane and
longitudinal directions. The current study explores the feasibility of 3D iterative Full and Half Scan
reconstruction methods for CT systems with two different architectures. In the first architecture the sources
are distributed in the longitudinal direction, and in the second architecture the sources are distributed both
longitudinally and trans-axially. We used Penalized Weighted Least Squares Transmission Reconstruction
(PWLSTR) and incorporated a projector-backprojector model matching the simulated architectures. The
proposed approaches minimize artifacts related to the proposed geometries. The reconstructed images show
that the investigated architectures can achieve good image quality for very large coverage without severe
cone-beam artifacts.
In a 3rd generation CT system, a single source projects the entire field of view (FOV) onto a large detector opposite to
the source. In multi-source inverse geometry CT imaging, a multitude of sources sequentially project complementary
parts of the FOV on a much smaller detector. These sources may be distributed in both the trans-axial and axial
directions and jointly cover the entire FOV. Multi-source CT has several important advantages, including large axial
coverage, improved dose-efficiency, and improved spatial resolution. One of the challenges of this concept is to ensure
that no artifacts emerge in the reconstructed images where the sampling switches from one source to the next. This
work studies iterative reconstruction for multi-source imaging and focuses on the appearance of such artifacts. For that
purpose, phantom data are simulated using a realistic multi-source CT geometry, iteratively reconstructed and inspected
for artifact content. More realistic experiments using rebinned clinical datasets (emulating a multi-source CT system)
have also been performed. The results confirm the feasibility of artifact-free multi-source CT imaging in both full-scan
and half-scan situations.
Third-generation CT architectures are approaching fundamental limits. Spatial resolution is limited by the focal spot size and the detector cell size. Temporal resolution is limited by mechanical constraints on gantry rotation speed, and alternative geometries such as electron-beam CT and two-tube-two-detector CT come with severe tradeoffs in terms of image quality, dose-efficiency and complexity. Image noise is fundamentally linked to patient dose, and dose-efficiency is limited by finite detector efficiency and by limited spatio-temporal control over the X-ray flux. Finally, volumetric coverage is limited by detector size, scattered radiation, conebeam artifacts, Heel effect, and helical over-scan. We propose a new concept, multi-source inverse geometry CT, which allows CT to break through several of the above limitations. The proposed architecture has several advantages compared to third-generation CT: the detector is small and can have a high detection efficiency, the optical spot size is more consistent throughout the field-of-view, scatter is minimized even when eliminating the anti-scatter grid, the X-ray flux from each source can be modulated independently to achieve an optimal noise-dose tradeoff, and the geometry offers unlimited coverage without cone-beam artifacts. In this work we demonstrate the advantages of multi-source inverse geometry CT using computer simulations.
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